Cambridgeshire police video suggests people should 'think twice' before reporting 'body' in case it is flytipping

A police force has been criticised for a video that showed a wrapped up carpet that looked like a dumped body at the side of the road.

Cambridgeshire police apologised after publishing the video on Twitter in an attempt to urge people to think twice about calling 999 when the issue is not an emergency.

The video plays out the scenario of a 999 call, with the caption reading: "Hello, Cambridgeshire police 999 emergency."

At first, the reply reads, "someone's dumped a carpet", but then it immediately changes to "someone's dumped a body".

It then says: "Not all calls are police matters. To report fly-tipping, contact your council. When it is a policing matter Cambridgeshire Constabulary will be there for you. Think twice. Is your call a policing matter?"

Cambridgeshire police apologised for a video that attempted to urge people to think twice about calling 999Credit:
Cambridgeshire Constabulary

The force said the post was intended to make people think about what to report to police.

But the video was branded "terrible" by one Twitter user, with another saying it implied people should not report body-shaped objects dumped by the side of the road to police.